Bottled Water Demand Beginning to Empty Out

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I broke free of my bottled water habit last year. I calculate I saved over $200 and prevented over 200 bottles from joining the waste stream simply by carrying a reusable cup with me.
It's great to see Nestle weigh in on the comments and try to convince me that bottled water is a safe, healthy, eco-friendly and weight conscious choice for beverages. Thanks for not pointing out how dramatically over-priced bottled water is or the horrific toll bottling facilities have on the immediate ecosystem and political arena (Fiji, anyone?)
Save money, save the enviroment and keep clean water accessible to everyone by opening the tap instead of a bottle.

Mel of DE 12:07PM August 26, 2009

While all beverage sales are down about 1% year-to-date, Nestlé Waters North America’s bottled water sales to stores are actually up about 2.5%. Taking into account these tough economic times, this shows that people continue to value bottled water.
Faced with many packaged beverage options, bottled water is probably the smartest choice you can make – it has no calories, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners. Most people say they would drink soda or similar beverages – NOT tap water – if bottled water wasn’t available. So, when 70 percent of what we drink comes in a package (and coffee, iced tea, fountain drinks, etc. in cups) and considering sweetened, calorie-rich drinks may be contributing to our nation’s obesity problem, bottled water has its place.
The comments made here about the cost of tap water raise an interesting point. Some experts think we should actually be paying MORE for our tap water to fund infrastructure upgrades (see a video of one expert explaining this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxB4t3vxp1Y). Our public water system faces a deteriorating infrastructure and, while tap water is mostly safe to drink, quality varies by community and even by situation (e.g., a natural disaster). And at-home filters don’t solve all quality issues - they can’t remove all contaminants and lose their effectiveness if not maintained.
I 100% agree with the concerns expressed by Papa Frita and others about where empty bottles end up. Plastic water bottles make up less than 1% of the waste stream, and we need to do more to ensure these and all other recyclable materials stay out of landfills. For our part, Nestlé Waters is working with non-profits, legislators and communities to make sure recycling is more accessible, with a goal of improving plastic bottle recycling rates to 60% by 2018.
Thanks for the chance to weigh in!
- Jane Lazgin, Nestlé Waters North America

Jane Lazgin of CT 10:13AM August 21, 2009

Our family broke the bottled water habit about a month ago.We did buy a effective yet resonably priced water purifier and now use stainless steel water bottles from Kleen Kanteen.

Traz of OH 12:52PM August 19, 2009

What do you mean "where can you have water for free"? Every restaurant that I go to provides free water (with a lemon).

Grundy of IL 9:12AM August 17, 2009

Where you can have water for free?
Everythig has a price, of course bottled water is more expensive, but we still have persons who do not think in the cost to the enviroment when they drink bottled water.
We already have millions of empty plastic bottles, they have not an idea what to do with them

Papa Frita of GA 10:09AM August 15, 2009

It's hard to break free of old habits.
While most of my family still relies on bottled water, I've bought a canteen from which I drink tap water every day. I also refuse to buy bottled drinks as they are 1) costly 2) often full of sugars and artificial ingredients and 3) bad for the environment.

Michelle Han of VA 12:49AM August 15, 2009

A restaurant will give you a glass of water for free---and many of them will also sell you a bottle of water. People buy them.
This is a sign that Americans have gone stupid----from marketing.
We don't need a 3% decrease in this nonsense. We need 50%.
Maybe the Federal Reserve should have let us sink into depression until we get sense.

Muser of NM 1:17PM August 14, 2009

How did bottled water ever get so popular, anyway? Because people are so easily manipulated and lazy. Most studies show that the quality of most tap water is equal to or superior to bottled water. So, you are spending money to buy something you can get for free, and creating massive amounts of waste in the process. Unbelievable. It's the same thing with bottled tea. Spending $1 or more per bottle for something you can make in 5 minutes at home for about 5 cents, and again creating totally unnecessary waste. Wow!

Grundy of IL 12:24PM August 14, 2009